Rashida Tlaib, a Muslim American woman who was born and raised in southwest Detroit, could make US history.
Everyone says Chrissy Teigen’s name wrong
Model Chrissy Teigen revealed that her name has been widely mispronounced and that she gave up trying to correct people years ago.
The outspoken model took to her Twitter account last night to let everyone know that both fans and the media have been saying her name wrong all these years.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) September 17, 2018
It all started when one fan tweeted, “well we pronounce @chrissyteigen’s name wrong all the time.”
“Word! gave up a long time ago. last name is tie-gen not tee-gen,” she replied.
Nike’s Colin Kaepernick gamble is already paying off
by David Goldman
CNN Newsource
Nike is getting just the response it wanted from its Colin Kaepernick ads.
Early indications suggest sales are up because of the new “Just Do It” campaign, according to Wedbush analyst Christopher Svezia.
The ads, which debuted last week, feature the quarterback among other athletes. Kaepernick started a movement among NFL players by kneeling during the National Anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice.
The campaign sent a strong message to Nike’s core customers: Millennials and younger men in cities. Two-thirds of the company’s sneaker customers are younger than 35, according to Matt Powell, a sports retail analyst at market research firm NPD Group.
“[Nike] communicated to them in a way that is authentic, culturally relevant, experiential and emotionally engaging,” Svezia wrote in an analyst note Friday.
He said the campaign increased core customers’ loyalty to Nike. It also raised awareness for the brand.
Nike gained 170,000 Instagram followers, and an Instagram post featuring Kaepernick was the second-most-liked post in Nike’s history, behind a post about the World Cup.
Nike’s followers commented on that post twice as much as any other Instagram post from the company — though not all were supportive.
The new followers, likes and consumer demographic led Svezia to believe that the Kaepernick ad campaign was positive for Nike and its sales.
Young people agree. Among people ages 18 to 34, 44% supported Nike’s decision to use Kaepernick, while 32% opposed it, according to an SSRS Omnibus poll provided exclusively to CNN. In the 35-to-44 age bracket, the decision earned support among a majority, 52%, compared with 37% who were against it.
Nike’s (NKE) stock closed at an all-time high Thursday. LeBron James, who has an endorsement deal with Nike, used that as an opportunity to dig at critics, such as President Donald Trump.
Well I mean I guess WE’RE on ????????????????????????????????. ???????????????? #JokesOnYou #NikeLifer✔️ https://t.co/OVPP54a3hz
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 14, 2018
“Management knows its American consumer well and the campaign featuring Mr. Kaepernick is a positive for the brand and likely its sales,” Svezia said.
Joe Biden attacks Trump’s use of power during LGBTQ dinner speech
When Joe Biden addressed the national dinner for the Human Rights Campaign on Saturday night, he found himself at a familiar juncture.
Speaking at the same dinner three years ago, he was grappling with a decision to make a late entrance in the 2016 presidential race mere months after the passing of his son Beau.
The circumstances are different this time around (it’s earlier in the process), but he is still mulling whether a third run for the White House could be the charm as he starts a campaign blitz for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections.
Biden, who ran failed bids in 1988 and 2008, has publicly said he’ll decide about 2020 by January, a time frame that sources close to the former vice president say mirrors his private discussions. But as he travels across the country, including to key presidential battleground states, his longtime network of loyal donors and operatives are watching and waiting for signs that he is inching toward a presidential run.
“He certainly feels the push from people who want him to run, so of course it’s there,” one Biden adviser said. “But in terms of the nuts and bolts of planning his time and thinking of what he’s doing, he’s focused on how he can be of most help to the Democratic Party.”
Biden took direct aim at President Donald Trump on Saturday night, noting that “forces of intolerance remain determined to undermine and roll back the progress you have made.”
“Instead of using the full might of the executive branch to secure justice, dignity, and safety for all, the President uses the White House as a literal, literal bully pulpit, callously exerting his power over those who have little or none,” he said.
Crisscrossing the country
He kicked off his midterm campaign sprint by literally running through a Labor Day parade in Pittsburgh alongside union workers — a group at the heart of his blue-collar, middle-class message.
“I’ve been with these guys my whole life,” Biden said. “These are the guys that brung me to the dance, as the saying goes.”
In the first week of October, Biden will make a three-day swing to California and Nevada to raise money and hold public events, including a likely stop with Democratic Senate candidate Jacky Rosen in Nevada, a source with knowledge of the plans tells CNN. Democrats see a real pickup opportunity in Rosen’s race against incumbent GOP Sen. Dean Heller.
It’s all part of Biden’s push to be one of the most active Democratic surrogates on the trail this fall with the pace of his campaigning picking up in October. His team says he’s squarely focused on getting Democrats elected in 2018 — but nearly everywhere he goes questions about 2020 loom.
A third run for President?
Jeff Bezos: Trump should welcome media scrutiny
by Lydia DePillis
CNN Newsource
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who typically tries to stay out of the political fray, mounted a vigorous defense of press freedom on Thursday evening, saying President Donald Trump should be glad to face media scrutiny.
The remarks came during an hour-long, freewheeling conversation with hedge fund billionaire and philanthropist David Rubenstein at an annual gathering of the Economic Club of Washington, which Rubenstein leads. After discussing the success of the Washington Post, which Bezos bought in 2013, Rubenstein asked how Bezos responds to criticism — some of which comes from Trump’s Twitter feed — of Amazon (AMZN) and the Post.
“I don’t feel the need to defend Amazon,” Bezos said. “But I will say this: I do think it’s a mistake for any elected official to attack media and journalists.”
“There’s no public figure who’s ever liked their headlines. It’s okay. It’s part of the process,” Bezos said. “What the president should say is, ‘This is right, I’m glad I’m being scrutinized.’ That would be so secure and confident.”
Demonizing the media and calling them “the enemies of the people” is dangerous, Bezos said.
“We live in a society where it’s not just the laws of the land that protect us. It’s also social norms that protect us. And every time you attack that, you’re eroding it a little bit around the edges,” he said.
The remarks were met with applause from the well-heeled audience, which was double the club’s typical attendance.
Many were eager to hear any hint of where Bezos had decided to put Amazon’s second headquarters, with multiple locations surrounding the national capital in contention. The dinner was sponsored by a coalition funded by local developers to advocate for more affordable housing in the region. Bezos was in town with his parents, who run the Bezos Family Foundation.
Attendees included Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, the head of the General Services Administration, the Postmaster General and other local dignitaries. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam was scheduled to attend, but couldn’t because of the approach of Hurricane Florence. Instead, he sent his economic development director.
Bezos disappointed them all, saying only that he would make a decision on the location of the new headquarters by the end of the year.
Nicki Minaj fires back at Cardi B
By Lisa Respers France
CNN Newsource
Nicki Minaj said Monday her recent dust-up with fellow rapper Cardi B was “mortifying and humiliating.”
Minaj addressed the incident during the latest episode of her Beats 1’s “Queen Radio” show.
“You’re angry and you’re sad. This is not funny,” Minaj said of Cardi B. “Get this woman some f***ing help. This woman’s at the highest point in her career and she’s throwing shoes?”
The pair were leaving New York Fashion Week’s annual Harper’s Bazaar Icons party late Friday at the Plaza Hotel in New York City when Cardi B appeared to go after Minaj.
Video from the exclusive invite-only soiree was captured by some attendees and posted on social media.
Cardi B is seen being restrained as she appears to lunge for Minaj before throwing her shoe.
Security alerted officers about a dispute between two people at the Plaza around 11 p.m. Friday, law enforcement sources said. Officers spoke to one of the guests involved, sources said, but the guest declined to make a complaint. No arrests were made.
It’s unclear what caused the quarrel to escalate, but Cardi B took to Instagram afterward and posted a profanity-filled video saying Minaj had criticized her parenting skills.
Cardi B gave birth to he first child, a daughter named Kulture Kiari Cephus, in July with husband rapper Offset.
Minaj disputed during her broadcast that she said anything negative about Cardi B or her child, stating that claim was “all lies.”
“I would never ridicule anyone’s child,” Minaj said. “[It’s] so sad for someone to pin that on somebody. I would never talk about anyone’s child or parenting. These lies are ridiculous.”
Minaj also had a dire warning for her fellow rapper.
“You put your hands on certain people, you gonna die,” she said. “Period.”
Jemele Hill, an African American reporter has the Last Laugh.
Back in February 2017, ESPN had made history with Jemele Hill and co-host Michael Smith as the first all-Black anchor team on SportsCenter. However, after Hill decided to call out president Donald Trump as a white supremacist, ESPN has been dimming their light on Ms. Hill as an anchor. Her hosting duties at “SportsCenter” ended and she decided to take on a new role in writing for ESPN’s Undefeated website. Now, ESPN has told the reporter that her time with the company is over.
According to other sports news websites, the former anchor for Sportscenter will accept a buyout of the remainder of her contract with the network. Hill’s deal with ESPN apparently still has two years to run and she stands to walk away with millions of dollars from ESPN parent Disney while she pursues other career opportunities, sources said.”
And every part of the buyout deal, Jemele Hill deserves.
The firing of Ms. Hill was not much of a shock considering Jimmy Pitaro, the new president of ESPN, said he didn’t want any of the commentators to have political opinions, implying he will be kowtowing to whatever the NFL wants. Pitaro told did an interview expressing on August 17, “I’ve spent a lot of time with league executives. The relationship is incredibly important to us. That programming cuts across everything we’re doing on the studio side, on the original content side. And we’ve made that very clear to the NFL.”
He also said, “If you ask me is there a false narrative out there, I will tell you ESPN being a political organization is false. I will tell you I have been very, very clear with employees here that it is not our jobs to cover politics, purely.”
The road will not end for this strong African American reporter. Jemele Hill will have a bright future and soon become one of the top reporters this generation has seen.
I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream for BEYONCE!!
NASHVILLE, TN – Elevator fights, a heart-breaking album, and the performance of the century at Coachella Music Festival, have been the greatest buzz across the country when it comes to Queen Bey. The Mother of three, decided to be on the run with her husband, Jay- Z again to prove how they’ve made it through their troubling marriage.
After giving life to two twins, Beyonce and Jay-Z released their joint album, Love Is Everything. Covering where there love stands as an African American couple.
It would’ve been easy after On the Run to excuse what happened that night in that elevator as just a drunken tiff between in-laws, but to do so would’ve been to run from the truth. It also wouldn’t have explained why Beyoncé sang her heartbreaking jilted lover’s ballad “Resentment” on that tour in a wedding dress and sobbed throughout like she was working through pain in real-time. Three years later, Jay-Z told us why on 4:44’s bonus track “MaNyfaCedGod,” admitting that’d we’d been witness to their live marriage counseling that whole tour.
Come 2018, the power couple’s “On The Run II” tour expressed and showed the couple celebrating their survival, reveling in their chemistry and embracing their roles as aspirational figures. And it all makes as all believe that anything is possible.
The Carter’s are the first to host a show at the Commodores Stadium where the stage had a space in the middle of that video screen also housed a four-story, 4X5 grid of boxes, each one occupied by the power house’s band and dancer. During the concert the couple strutted their stuff down two long run ways that stretched across the entire field. The run ways made it able for the artists to have more engagement with their fans.
Beyonce and Jay-Z preformed their hottest duets from, “Crazy in Love” down to “Drunk in Love” to prove how much they’ve grown with the years. During intervals, the Brooklyn native Sean Carter came out and performed his hottest hits from the 90s that earned him the title of the “goat” to most millennials. Mr. Carter then would get the crowd ready for the most anticipated performance by his wife Beyonce Knowles, who shocked everyone with her majorette style dance moves and angelic vocals. For the final stretch, a piece of center stage essentially lifted off, spewing fog underneath as it rolled along a track to the other end of the field.
Colin Kaepernick: A cultural star fast turning into a global icon
No one had noticed Colin Kaepernick sitting on a bench as the American national anthem rang out during a pre-season match on August 16, 2016. No questions were asked, no objections raised.
There was no indication that the quarterback would become America’s most polarizing sports star. Perhaps it was because the then-injured Kaepernick was not wearing his San Francisco 49ers uniform on that summer night in Houston.
Six days later, at a home game with the Denver Broncos, Kaepernick was still injured, still protesting, yet fans, journalists, the 49ers, the NFL and its owners were still unaware a storm was brewing.
But on August 26, after a game against the Green Bay Packers, a reporter looked closer at a picture of the 49ers and noticed Kaepernick sitting alone near the coolers as everyone else around him stood while the anthem played.
Questions were asked. Word spread. Kaepernick became the most talked about athlete in America. A villain to some, a hero to others.
READ: Kaepernick ad and the hypocrisy of Nike outrage
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick, then 28, told NFL.com’s Steve Wyche, the man who broke the story.
“To me, this is bigger than football, and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way.
“There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Rising against injustice
This was a star quarterback in America’s most popular sports league. A black man with a black biological father and a white biological mother, adopted by white parents who raised him in the predominantly white northern Californian town of Turlock, drawing attention to police brutality.
It was not, he would reiterate, a protest against the military or the flag, though that message would become lost over the next two years, drowned out by the ire and the applause.
A tiny ripple quickly built into a wave which aimed to sweep down the walls of oppression. From San Francisco to Seattle, from the NFL to the National Women’s Soccer League, from elite sports stars to college kids, there were many who wanted to strike out with Kaepernick against injustice.
For the 49ers’ fourth preseason match Kaepernick took to one knee during the anthem; his teammate Eric Reid joined him.
On the same night Seattle Seahawks’ Jeremy Lane sat for the anthem. Days later Megan Rapinoe was the first white athlete to take the knee, doing so before a professional soccer match, and on September 9 Denver Broncos’ Brandon Marshall became the first NFL player to do it in a regular-season game.
READ: Protest took Kaepernick from star QB, to unemployment to Nike
Critics emboldened, supporters inspired
Two years on, Kaepernick is unemployed after opting out of his contract in March 2017 before the 49ers could release him and has largely maintained a public silence over the last 12 months. But he is more powerful than he has ever been.
As the new NFL season begins, and the ruling over anthem protests remains unclear, the country’s most influential American footballer, the symbol of a movement, isn’t anywhere near the pitch.
But he returned to the spotlight this week when it was revealed Kaepernick, a Nike athlete since 2011 but not featured in its campaigns since his departure from the NFL, would be the poster boy for company’s 30th anniversary Just Do It ad.
READ: Kaepernick effect — taking a knee in high school sports
With a black and white picture of the kneeling quarterback-turned-activist superimposed with the nine words, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything,” Kaepernick has returned to the forefront of public debate. He didn’t have to say a word, or make a single play.
Over these last few days his supporters have been inspired, his critics emboldened.
Nike trainers and socks have been burnt, the hashtag #boycottnike was trending on Twitter through much of Tuesday. US President Donald Trump, who last year described the NFL protesters as “sons of bitches” and whose frequent comments on the issue has fueled the flames of national debate, said Nike’s ad sent a “terrible message.”
Kaepernick and Reid, who like his former teammate remains unsigned, received ovations at the US Open last week when they were shown on the big screen. Former CIA director John Brennan lauded the former 49er, and by using Kaepernick Nike — a multibillion-dollar company whose interest lies in selling sportswear — has made it clear whose side it is on. They are not with the President on this.
Whether the majority of the NFL’s white, conservative billionaire owners like it or not, Kaepernick is the face of the league which the player himself believes blacklisted him.
A global icon
The man who would spend his time time as a player quietly attending lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, to learn about black history is a cultural star, fast turning into a global icon.
“He’s monumentally more famous than he ever was as a player,” Nate Boyer, a former American footballer and Green Beret, tells CNN Sport.
“He’s probably one of the biggest pop culture icon at least out of sport that there is and it’s all due to the demonstrations, it’s nothing to do with football really.”
Boyer has been closely associated with the protest since the beginning, writing an open letter to Kaepernick that was published in the Army Times, which culminated in a face-to-face discussion between the two men. During that meeting, Kaepernick was persuaded by Boyer to kneel for the national anthem rather that sit as it showed, in Kaepernick’s words, “more respect for the men and women that fight for this country.”
Boyer admits he did not think the issue would become as big as it has, but urges Americans “to be smarter” and calls for the man who is now known for a simple, silent gesture to be more vocal.
“To really believe that half of our country is stupid and your side has all the answers and the other half doesn’t have a clue is ignorant,” he says, answering one of hundreds of questions he has been asked on Kaepernick this week, though the pair have not spoken for a while.
“I want to get back to unity in this country. I think Colin can be a big part of bringing us together, but it’s going to take him being vocal, being involved with people on both sides of an issue and reaching across.
“I know Colin can do that because he did it with me, so he’s capable of that. More Americans need to see that because we don’t see it, we just see reactions to one side of the story. I would continue to encourage him to be part of that.”
‘The Muhammad Ali of his generation’
Around the time Kaepernick met Boyer, the player was as much a part of the public discourse as the Presidential election, making headlines with his words and actions.
He received death threats, his teammates voted him the winner of the Len Eshmont award “for inspirational and courageous play,” Time magazine put him on the cover kneeling next to the words “The Perilous Fight,” and earlier this year Amnesty International honored Kaepernick with its ambassador of conscience award.
Described as “the Muhammad Ali of this generation” by civil rights activist Harry Edwards, Kaepernick promised to donate $1 million of his salary to various organizations and continued to speak out, saying that “cops are being given paid leave for killing people. That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards.”
But, aside from social media posts, the former 49er has been quiet since the end of 2016. He has not spoken to the media since he filed his grievance against the NFL, accusing the league’s owners of conspiring to keep him out because of his protests.
The NFL has attempted to have the case thrown out, but last month the arbitrator determined that Kaepernick’s lawyers had unearthed enough credible evidence to allow the case to proceed to a full hearing. It will no doubt keep Kaepernick in the news during the NFL season.
There are no shades of gray when it comes to Kaepernick. Everyone has an opinion. Even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, former President of Iran, tweeted this week: “… unfortunately once again @Kaepernick7 is not on a NFL roster. Even though he is one of the best quarterbacks in the league.”
Though his form dipped since his starring role against the New England Patriots in 2012 which led the 49ers to the playoffs and, ultimately, the SuperBowl, statistics suggests Kaepernick is still good enough for the NFL. He threw 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 2016, while in that November he had the best first-half performance by a 49ers quarterback since Steve Young in 1997.
Much has happened to the young player who gave rise to “Kaepernicking” during the 2012 season, a reference to the act of kissing his tattooed biceps to celebrate a touchdown. Those tattoos led one columnist to compare him to a prison inmate, his first brush with being the cause of fury.
A worldwide platform
Of course, Kaepernick is not the first black athlete to make a stand against social injustice and suffer as a consequence.
Craig Hodges was a sharpshooter for the Chicago Bulls and outspoken on a number of issues, from poverty in the black community to the Gulf War.
He turned up to the White House’s congratulatory ceremony in a full-length dashiki with an eight-page letter intended for President George Bush. He was cut by the Bulls that offseason and never played in the NBA again.
John Carlos and Tommie Smith shook the world at the 1968 Olympics by raising their fists on the podium during the American anthem. They received death threats on their return to America and were suspended from the US track team. Former broadcaster Brent Musberger, when writing a columnist for the Chicago American, described the Olympians as “a pair of dark-skinned stormtroopers.”
And there is “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali, who refused to fight in Vietnam. The heavyweight champion was stripped of his crown and reduced to making a paid appearance at a boat show in his hometown of Louisville, his passport taken away, along with his ability to make a living.
In the absence of football, the Nike deal gives Kaepernick a worldwide platform and such a major endorsement will likely give other athletes further strength to stand by their convictions in an age where the country’s most commercially viable stars are in open opposition to the President. Athletes perhaps have more power than they realize.
“What this might mean is that there is space for athletes to be part of this conversation about race and social justice without having to risk their endorsements and I think that’s important,” Professor Louis Moore, associate professor of history at Michigan’s Grand Valley State University, tells CNN Sport.
“I hope it gives companies the same confidence to support athletes too. That they will see that maybe having an athlete who is politically engaged isn’t bad.”
But Kaepernick’s voice could have been louder, says Moore.
“Kap stayed silent for a year. He could’ve taken advantage of 24 hours news, social media, but he stayed silent,” he explains.
“Ali, he stayed active, he did tours, he was on the news, he did radio. Kap stayed silent for a year. In that sense, he has an ability to have a bigger platform because of social media but he didn’t use it.
“But he’ll always be in that conversation about those key figures, Ali, Smith … He’s a part of history, in a good way too.”
Message louder than ever
Over the last two years Kaepernick’s conduct has not been without fault: he has worn socks featuring cartoon pigs wearing police uniform, a t-shirt featuring former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, and was heavily criticized for revealing that he did not vote in the 2016 election. But he has been successful in affecting the national dialogue.
“He forced us to have a conversation about race and racism and police brutality and he forced people to wrestle with this reality that these things exist in America,” says Moore.
“Whenever a black athlete speaks out it highlights issues. That’s his impact. It’s a conversation that’s been going on for two years. It’s going to be an ongoing conversation. This is where we’re at as a nation.
“Kaepernick will be part of that conversation for a while because of Nike and also because the NFL has started. That conversation around criminal justice and police brutality is front and center in America right now, not only because of Kapernick but because we have cameras and we see all this stuff all the time on social media, on the news, and that’s something we have to deal with as a country.”
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At the start of his protest, Kaepernick said: “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
The football has been taken away, the game goes on without him, but his message is louder than ever.
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Why big food companies are giving money to startups
08 SEP 18 15:12 ET
(CNN Money) — Big food companies are entering the startup game.
In recent years, Chipotle, Chobani, Land O’Lakes and Pepsico have launched accelerator programs designed to help innovative food and beverage startups grow their businesses.
Chipotle’s Aluminaries Project offers a group of startups mentoring from celebrity chef Richard Blais and entrepreneur Kimbal Musk, the brother of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, among others.
Chobani’s Incubator gives each participating startup $25,000, as does Land O’Lakes Dairy Accelerator. Pepsi’s offers $20,000 and a $100,000 grand prize to the winner of the six-month long program.
None of the companies are taking a stake in the startups. All of them say that the programs are a way to help young businesses thrive, and give back to their communities.
That’s not the whole story.
With the accelerator programs, companies are hoping to learn how to keep up with food trends and compete like entrepreneurs.
“The food system is changing very dramatically,” said Peter Bodenheimer, Program Director for food startup accelerator Food-X.
He said that big food brands used to dictate what people ate. Now, young competitors are offering people more choices, and responding more quickly to trends.
“These big companies are getting their lunch eaten by smaller upstarts,” he said. “They’re trying to understand what the market looks like.”
Morningstar analyst R.J. Hottovy added that “a lot of these companies struggle to find growth in this environment.”
“By investing or partnering with some of the startups,” Hottovy said, they may “try to capitalize on trends.”
Thinking like an entrepreneur
Consumer tastes are evolving quickly and companies have to keep up, said Chris Roberts, chief operating officer of dairy foods for Land O’Lakes. Millennial customers in particular, he said, like to experiment with food. That means brands have to constantly think ahead.
“Just because you’re winning today, doesn’t mean you’ll be winning in a year or two,” he said.
Working with startups also gives the company creative solutions to common problems. One example, Roberts said, was trying out a product at farmers markets instead of conducting formal tests.
Another benefit to helping startups grow is that more successful companies mean a bigger market.
“It helps the dairy community in general,” Roberts said, and creates “more demand for the base product, which is milk.” That helps Land O’Lakes shareholders, which include dairy farmers.
Roberts said that working with the first cohort led the company to make two acquisitions: Vermont Creamery, which makes cheese, cream and butter, and feta cheese brand Philia.
Plants, insects and tree sap
Pepsi has also had some time to reflect on the benefits of its program. The company’s North American program, which launched this month, is based on a European accelerator it launched in 2017.
Daniel Grubbs, managing director of the PepsiCo Ventures Group, said that the Pepsi accelerator helps the company figure out what new products consumers are responding to.
“That’s very beneficial for us,” he said.
Last year, eight companies received grants through the European program. The list included a company that makes whipped vegetables, one that sells birch sap and another that sells snacks made out of insects.
Erbology, a British company that sells plant-based snacks, powders and oils, was the winner of the first European accelerator.
Kindred spirits
Chipotle is focusing on companies that develop farming and agriculture tech and find solutions to food waste.
Caitlin Leibert, the company’s sustainability director said Chipotle’s program is philanthropic. “But we’d be remiss to say that investing in the future of food with integrity wouldn’t benefit our company.”
Chobani hopes its program will make more natural food available to more people. And it’s part of CEO Hamdi Ulukaya’s personal mission to help entrepreneurs, said Peter McGuinness, the company’s chief marketing and commercial officer.
Ulukaya is “just a founder entrepreneur wanting to pay it forward,” said McGuinness. The successful Greek yogurt company is only ten years old.
“That’s why we decided to do this no strings attached,” McGuinness said.
Bone broth company Kettle and Fire and Chloe’s Fruit, which makes fruit-based soft serve and popsicles, have gone through Chobani’s incubator. Since then, they’ve eached raised millions of dollars in funding.
McGuiness said Chobani is not worried about any of the startups stealing away its customers.
“We don’t have any yogurt makers in the mix,” he said, adding that the companies are complementary to Chobani’s business. “If anything, we’re kindred spirits.”
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